Brown’s seasonal ale nods to Troy political past

On Thursday (3/8), Brown’s Brewing Co. in Troy will begin serving a seasonal ale that winks to Troy’s Irish culture and history of saloon-room political shenanigans.

Bat Shea Red is a traditional amber ale named for Bartholomew “Bat” Shea, a 19th-century Irish bar thug who was infamously accused, tried and executed for murdering Troy industrialist Robert Ross during an incident of election fraud on March 6, 1894.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, Troy novelist Jack Casey will lead a toast to Bat Shea and sing a few songs inspired by his story. Casey is author of “The Trial of Bat Shea,” a novel, play and album.

Uhhh….since always: Jesse James, Jack “Legs” Diamond, Robin Hood, the founding fathers of this country (who all committed treason against the crown)…

But more to the point. I don’t believe you are familiar with this story. Here’s some more information from the press release (which you can read in full by clicking my name then the “news” link”):

On election day, March 6, 1894, Troy brewer and political boss, U.S. Sen. Edward J. Murphy, D-Troy, sent a gang of Irish-Catholic repeat voters to stuff the ballot boxes of the city’s Thirteenth Ward in an attempt to steal the Republican alderman position for one of his own men, saloonkeeper George Dunlop. Ross, a Scots Presbyterian Republican, stood up to the gang led by Shea and was shot dead in the scuffle. The trial of Bat Shea became an international news story as the world watched American democracy on trial. Shea was convicted with perjured testimony hatched by the nativistic American Protective Association, that age’s Ku Klux Klan, and condemned to death. His appeals failed.

Three days before Shea’s execution, however, another man confessed to the murder. Even so, the court denied Shea a new trial. In his final moments, Shea forgave all responsible for his trial and conviction, and walked proudly to the electric chair. The man who hounded him to death, on a platform of anti-Irish bigotry, became governor.

“Troy’s bars have been the setting for countless political schemes throughout our history,” said Casey, author of “The Trial of Bat Shea,” a novel, play and album. “Shea’s case is perhaps the most notorious of them because of the violence and the backlash. By the time he was executed in the electric chair, few believed he was guilty, but the courts refused to give him a new trial. This Thursday we’ll hoist a glass and sing some songs to remember this quintessential Irish rebel.”

Well said Duncan! There has always been that “living vicariously through others” when it comes to criminals. Some, not all, but it’s always been that way. And as a side note, I can’t even believe for a second that there is or has been ballot stuffing or voter fraud in Troy since 1894! Where was Trey Smith and Bob Mirch 120 years ago?

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